“A great day for the European Union and for its citizens. But this is above all a great day for Italy, which is not just one of the convinced founders of the Treaty of Rome “Group of Six”. Our country is also the home of great thinkers and statesmen who gave an essential impetus to Europe’s values and the integration process”. This was Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi’s comment on the award of the Nobel Prize to the European Union.
The Ventotene manifesto
Terzi recalled “the men who put their names to this process: Altiero Spinelli, with the Ventotene manifesto; Alcide De Gasperi; Gaetano Marino; and a key figure from diplomacy, foreign minister Carlo Sforza, who used to say ‘If we don’t want to create Europe out of affection or passion, let’s do it at least out of interest’. An utterance that is particularly topical now. Europe, at least out of national interest, must be built”.
